A review by librovermo
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

funny lighthearted

3.5

I read this one with a friend and had a pretty good time! 

It was outside of my normal kind of read (and the spice was um, maybe a little too much for me lol) but the idea of the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween falling in love was too good to pass up. 

I expected a fun, laid-back read, and I did get that (plus plenty of silly camp), but it was also a lot deeper than I expected. While Coal worried about the possible repercussions of falling in love with the enemy, he also had a lot going on with the pressures of being the heir of Christmas and feeling like he was too weak to make any meaningful impact. The political aspect used to illustrate Santa’s whole deal was a bit convoluted imo but it was interesting. There were themes of grief and the consumerism of Christmas that gave the story a more serious tone at times, but it was never so serious that the book felt anything more than lighthearted. 

I liked Hex more in the beginning because he was brooding, smart and insightful but I feel like his personality sort of devolved into just “Coal’s lover” once they got together and that was a little disappointing. Coal is an excellent character and his banter with everyone was funny. I especially liked his relationship with his brother, Kris.

I usually read Christmas-themed horror this time of year and it was fun to read something funny and light too!